Of Power Outages and Teddy Bears
by Vaynchaalris
Summary: It's the Winter Season in The World That Never Was and the Organization decides to celebrate the holidays during a power outage. When Xion and Roxas want to celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah, the members must decorate in the dark. Once gifts are received from an unknown source, the Organization is filled with nostalgia of childhood memories. Happy Holidays!
1. What's The Holidays?

**Happy Holidays! This story is quite long so I had to divide it up into two chapters. Enjoy!**

_I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters.  
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><p>The snowflakes fell gently from the cotton candy sky, blanketing the streets below in a soft, thick layer of white. The city seemed a bit cheerier and brighter with the contrast. Memory's Skyscraper was coated with a layer of the ash color. The illuminating lights from the building bounced off the snow and reflected onto the city.<p>

Xemnas' window was covered in a thin layer of moisture; clumps of snow gathered outside on the window panes as icicles dangled from above. His chest moved in a rhythm as he blissfully snoozed under his thick, warm blankets. His room was dark; the only light was the dying blaze in the fireplace opposite his bed. When it was frigid at night, the heat of the fire enveloped him in warmth.

A small and delicate teddy bear clutched in his arms. The tattered wear and tear from the bear seemed as if it was from his childhood; an eye was missing. The Superior was in his dream place, unaware that lunch time was approaching. He was never one to sleep in but it was Winter Vacation for all Nobody's; no work, no missions, just rest.

What went unaware for him due to his subconscious was the pitter patter of footsteps from the stairwell just outside his thick door. The steps were slow as if they were trying to be un-noticed. But the squeaky steps gave away their cover. Meanwhile, Xemnas' breathing swayed the pom-pom on his purple, satin, sleeping hat back and forth with every inhale and exhale.

The snow continued to fall heavier as every minute went by. The weather man predicted that the fall of precipitation would only reach a foot or two, but the rate of the snowfall determined that was a lie. It had to have reached three feet by now as it snowed gracefully over night.

A hand reached for the doorknob with a twist that caused a click sound. Xemnas continued to sleep. Very slowly, the door creaked open until it was stopped by the wall. A silhouette stood in the doorway with a candle stick in hand. The illumination of the small flame revealed the smug face of a scar-faced Nobody. He took a minute to watch over Xemnas sleeping before quietly walking towards his bed.

"Xemnas." He spoke in a gentle tone while standing by his bed side. He set the candle on the nightstand although it didn't brighten up the room very well. "Xemnas." He spoke louder in a normal tone. "You must awaken."

With a slight groan and a deep nasal breath, Xemnas stretched. His eyes opened slowly as he angled his face upwards to meet the man who had spoken his name. "Saix?" He questioned after a long, cat-like yawn. "What is the concern?"

Saix kept his mouth straight; he was one to rarely show expression. "We are lacking electricity at this moment." Blinking, Xemnas sat up and rested his back against the head board. His stuffed bear fell off the side of his bed down to Saix's feet. The Scar Faced one simply stared at the bear as if his gaze would cause it to burst into flames. "The rest of the Organization is in a panic." He continued, glancing back up to face Xemnas. "Excluding numbers four, five, and six of course."

Xemnas stared off into his fire place, watching the dying flicker of the flame get smaller and smaller. His eyes were heavy, desiring for an hour more of sleep. His mouth was dry and he glided his tongue against his teeth. He would definitely brush those as soon as he could.

"Is something the matter?" Saix questioned; cocking his head to the side. It seemed that the Superior was ignoring him.

Xemnas wiped his eye with his fingers, clearing out the sleeping dust that clumped together. "No, of course not. I'll address the issue once I am fully composed." With a nod, Saix exited; his boots clicking against the flooring.

It took a while for the Superior to find his cloak and put it on in the dark due to the dim lighting of the candle Saix left behind but eventually made it downstairs.

The Gray Area was darker than usual. Kingdom Hearts gave off a glow, but it wasn't enough to fully light the place. It was still hard to see. The high ceilings were black; it was as if when you looked up, you were staring into space.

Once Xemnas entered, all voices hushed and movements were halted. It only added onto his pride; feeling like a god upon entering.

"Xemmy!" a voice shouted from a figure in the distance that was waving their hands around. Xemnas recognized the annoying voice and heaved a sigh. The figure got closer as the sound of running was heard. "What are we gonna do?"

"Demyx," Saix barked. "Show some respect."

The Superior raised his hand in dismissal. "It is fine." He cleared his throat. "Since Xigbar would not buy the generator I wanted last month perhaps you should ask him." A small smirk grew on his lips. Xemnas always found ways for revenge sooner or later. Now Xigbar would have to deal with Demyx's whining and panicking this time. An exaggerated groan was heard from across the room. "It is always best to obey your elders." He gave a small chuckle.

Footsteps came from behind. Spinning around, Xemnas saw a bright light; as if headlights were shining onto him. Covering his eyes from the brightness, he recognized the form as Vexen; the mad scientist of the Organization. As he came closer, he was more visible. Tons of candle sticks were piled into his arms and a head light was strapped around his forehead.

"You better be thankful." He said in a bitter tone as he made his way toward on e of the sofas. "I almost broke my ankle stumbling through the dark getting these." He emptied his arms onto the sofa and the candlesticks fell onto the cushions.

"Thanks, Vexy!" Demyx exclaimed. You could almost hear the smile in his voice.

With a groan and some mumbling Vexen sighed. "Does anyone happen to have a lighter?"

A figure that was near the glass wall suddenly moved. "Who needs a lighter?" The figure said in a cocky tone. "You got me that's hot enough right?" Nobody found it humorous except himself. The figure got larger with every footstep. Vexen's head light gave the person away; bright red lion-mane-like hair and glowing, green cat eyes. Snatching up one of the candles, the red haired man pointed his index finger on the wick. A small orange flame spewed from his fingertip and lit the candle.

"For once you've shown yourself useful." Vexen remarked in a snarky tone. The scientist was hard for anyone to gain approval of. The only two Nobody's of the Organization he seemed to actually be nice to were Lexaeus and Zexion.

Soon, every candle was lit and placed around the large, open room. The room illuminated in a warm, yellow glow and everyone was visible.

Xigbar sat on a sofa with Luxord; the two were playing a game of cards. Xaldin stood with his arms crossed against the wall, watching the card players. Lexaeus stood behind Zexion who was reading on the couch by himself. He seemed to act as his protective older brother sometimes. Demyx was currently lying on the floor; balancing himself on his elbows. He seemed to be bothering Zexion. Marluxia stood in a corner beside Larxene; the two seemed to be having a secret conversation. Roxas and Xion sat on a sofa together quietly and not saying a word.

"Now what?" Axel questioned as he crossed his arms. "How are we supposed to entertain ourselves without television?" He glanced over at the flat screen; wishing it was on.

"Watching mindless television isn't the only source of entertainment, Axel." Zexion spoke in a quiet voice that was hidden behind the thick book he held up to read. It acted as a shield so he wouldn't have to see Demyx who was currently staring at him since he declined a staring contest.

Roxas twiddled his thumbs; opening his mouth and then closing it as if he was carefully thinking about what to say. "We could get some ice cream." He offered.

Vexen gave a bitter stare at the younger boy and narrowed his eyes. "We lost the power last night, child; the ice cream has melted by now."

"So can't we just find the power?" Everyone was silent at Roxas' question. Larxene covered her mouth and chuckled and Luxord rolled his eyes as if he was just a lost cause. Zexion even lowered his book to glance at Roxas to see if he was serious. "We lost it. Everything that's lost can be found, right? I mean, if it's lost that means it exists."

Everyone stayed silent and Axel rushed over to his friend's side as if it was his child. "You see Roxas we have these things called power lines. You know what those are, right?" Once Axel attended to the confused boy everyone resumed back to their activities.

Demyx suddenly jumped up. "I got an idea!" Everyone turned to face him except Zexion. "We should celebrate the holidays!" He outstretched his hand as if he was on stage, receiving applause for a brilliant invention.

Xion leaned in towards Axel and Roxas with a shy look on her face. "Hey Axel, what's the holidays?" She whispered. The red-head sighed and began explaining power lines and holiday traditions.

Xaldin raised an eyebrow. "And how to you plan on doing that?" Demyx tapped his finger onto his chin and stared at the dark ceiling in thought.

Xemnas sighed in nostalgia; remembering what it was like as a Somebody when he celebrated Christmas with his family. The whistle from his favorite train set still lingers in his mind. "I say we shall celebrate." The Superior spoke finally. "It'll be our first Holiday celebration as an Organization." Saix cocked his head at Xemnas in bewilderment. His eyebrows furrowed as if Xemnas had betrayed him in some way. He couldn't believe his ears.

"Nobody's don't celebrate the holidays." The Scar-Faced man stated in a monotone.

Xemnas turned to face him, his cloak swung at his feet. "And where did you get that ludicrous law?"

He couldn't give an answer.

Meanwhile, the Nobody's of Organization XIII began decorating for the celebration. Zexion educated Roxas and Xion on different beliefs and traditions of the winter season which got them excited and made them suggest that they should celebrate them all.

Xigbar, Xaldin and Luxord set off on a journey to the store where they picked up stockings, Santa hats, candy canes and a pine tree. Upon their return Roxas began lecturing the three on how much he knew of the holidays and told them to buy things for Hanukah and Kwanza which they reluctantly did so.

Axel and Zexion decorated the tree with bulbs and lights Luxord had picked out. The bulbs came in many different sizes; some were big and others small. Axel strung the lights on the top half of the tree while Zexion who was almost a foot shorter, strung them around the bottom half.

"Seems like it's missing something." Demyx commented as he walked by with his arms full of tangled Christmas lights. "A top piece!"

Axel and Zexion glanced at each other, both with their arms folded as if they were thinking the exact thing.

Meanwhile Marluxia placed a silver Menorah in the window sill and carefully lit every single candle. Xion happened to walk by when she noticed Marluxia gazing at the silver object admiringly.

"You're not supposed to light all of them." Xion stated while shaking her finger. Marluxia placed his hands on his hips and gave a perplexed stare. The black haired girl stood on her toes and blew out every single wick. "You're only supposed to light one every night that passes. It's not time yet." And with that she walked away with her head held high in pride. She felt like the Queen of the Holidays.

In the Kitchen, Larxene and Xaldin made baked goods. Roxas had instructed them to make oily based foods like doughnuts for Hanukkah and to gather fruits in a bowl for Kwanzaa. Larxene put the fruits together while Xaldin prepared the doughnuts. Since they had no power to use the oven, getting the ingredients together was a start. Larxene was never one to admire cooking but since she was a woman, the Organization placed her in the kitchen. Roxas popped in every now and then to check up on the "chefs". He told Xaldin he should made a Christmas dinner which only frustrated him even more.

In the dining room, Lexaeus placed a bright green table cloth over the long, oak table instructed by Xion. On top of that he placed a straw woven mat that Xigbar had picked up from the store. Xion claimed that the mat was called the Mkeka and that it symbolized the historical foundation of African ancestry. Lexaeus had no idea what she was talking about, but obeyed quietly to avoid conflict.

In The Gray Area, Axel finished topping of the tree with a Chakram while Zexion was forced by Xigbar to hang up the stockings. When Demyx passed by, he made sure to slap on a Santa hat onto the shorter boys head; messing up his hair.

Roxas observed everyone around to make sure everything was perfect. He even had a clipboard and pen to check off things they had accomplished.

"Christmas Tree? Check." He slashed the empty box beside the word 'tree'. "Menorah? Check. Mkeka? Check. Bowl of fruit? Check. Doughnuts? Halfway check." But when he came across a certain item, his mouth hung open. "We don't have the Kinara!"

Xion rushed over to his side with a gasp and checked the clip board over herself. "You're right!" She glanced around the room quickly. "How are we going to represent the seven core principles of Kwanzaa?"

"We have candles; lot's of them. I guess were just gonna have to line them up together on the table."

Xion nodded and blew out the candles and brought them into the dining room. She lined up all seven onto the Mkeka and stood back, admiring her work.

"They're not colored but at least it's something."

The table in the dining room was decorated with the Mkeka, the homemade Kinara, a bowl of fruit, two ears of corn and a coffee mug. Roxas and Xion tried to make everything perfect and the way that they read from Zexion's book, but they couldn't. Improvising was a great way to get the things close enough. They had Kwanzaa all set; their next mission was Hanukah.

They had the Menorah; now all they needed was a dreidel. Xion rushed out into the decorated Gray Area and tapped Zexion on the shoulder. His hair was static-y from the hat Demyx had put on his head earlier.

He turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Xion glanced down at her feet and shyly placed her hands behind her back. "Uhm, we don't have a dreidel."

He crossed his arms. "And what am I suppose to do about it?" She dropped her shoulders and shrugged.

"I just wanted to have a fun celebration; I want everything perfect like the way it is in your book." She gestured towards him and sighed. "Do you think we can buy one from the store?"

He shook his head, causing his hair to swing from side to side. "Dreidels are something you can't buy from any ordinary store. Perhaps you could make one."


	2. The Celebrations

**Thanks for reading. Happy Holidays!**

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><p>The two gathered in the Castle's Library where they found a book on Origami. Lucky enough, they found instructions on how to make a Dreidel. Xion and Zexion folded tons of papers, creasing the folds and even cutting pieces away with scissors but neither of them could get it perfect. When the paper Dreidels spun, they just fell over and the bottom point which caused it to spin would get worn out. Once thicker paper was brought in, they made better Dreidels, however only Xion could make the best ones and they decided to use hers.<p>

Everyone gathered in the Gray Area. The very few candles that were left barely illuminated the large room. The shadows swallowed up any sign of decorations. The only way to know that there was a tree was the strong scent of pine.

"So," Xigbar trailed off, crossing his arms and cocking his head to the side, "now what?" Everyone stood in silence. "We got some food that needs to be cooked. When's the power gonna come back on anyways?"

"Did anyone even think to call in the outage?" Axel questioned. Nobody replied except Xaldin let out a cough to break the silence. "Great." The red-head said, plopping onto the couch beside Zexion with an exasperated sigh. The younger one narrowed his eyes and moved as close as he could to the arm of the sofa. Axel gave off an offended expression at the action.

"I have some battery operated lanterns in my laboratory." Vexen began thoughtfully as he cupped his chin. "But there's not a slight chance you'll see me going down there to fetch them."

Zexion lowered his book to gaze at Vexen with narrowed slits. "I'll go." Lexaeus sharply turned his head towards the soft-spoken book worm.

"Perhaps you'll need assistance."

Closing the cover and having the book disappear in thin air; Zexion got up and made his way towards the hallway. Pausing, he turned his head to the side, gazing at Lexaeus from the corner of his eye. "Thank you but it is not needed." Without a word; Lexaeus followed anyways and the two disappeared into the blackened hallway.

"Won't they need a candle?" Xigbar questioned.

Vexen flipped his wrist in dismissal. "Nonsense. Zexion has astonishingly sharp perception."

"Something just occurred to me," Marluxia began as he cupped his chin. His blue eyes were glued to the Menorah in the window. "How do we know it is night if the sky always stays black in this world? When will we light the Menorah?"

Xion swallowed, searching for a reply. It was true; the World That Never Was had always been dark. "We have clocks, right? Besides, we can light it when the power returns or when we get the lanterns." She replied slowly, carefully thinking out each and every word.

Soon enough, a large shadow appeared in the hallway with a massive bright light. It was as if a train was coming through a dark tunnel at night. Covering his eyes, Xemnas noticed that it was the form of Lexaeus. However he didn't see Zexion, but a strange shape on top of Lexeaus. When the Giant got closer it was obvious to see that Zexion was not walking behind or beside Lexaeus, but that he was sitting on his shoulders.

When the entered the room, the Book Worm tossed a lantern to Vexen. "You may want to think about organizing your closets. " He leaped off of Lexaeus backwards and landed on his feet. The Giant let his armful of lanterns tumble down onto the couch beside Axel. There was about twelve of them; plenty to brighten the room.

Vexen gave a scowl and mumbled under his breath but turned on a couple of lanterns anyways. They were blinding to look at and one single lantern nearly lit up half of the room. Roxas grabbed a couple and placed them on the other side of the room.

"That's much better." Roxas commented while dusting off his hands.

"Hold on," Started Axel as he picked up a lantern. "Just one more." As soon as he flipped the 'on' switch, the entire room lit up. The Christmas lights came to life in red and gold. The decorations on the tree reflected and bounced the colored lights onto the walls.

"It's a miracle!" Demyx shouted while extending his arms with an ear to ear grin. He twirled around like a little girl in a field of flowers. Xion stood in front of the tree, admiring it with a sigh.

"It was just as I imagined."

Roxas stood beside her with a shy grin. "I guess it does look pretty good."

Zexion frowned the corner of his lip. "Tch, pretty good?" He questioned. "It's brilliant. I put a lot of effort into it."

Axel chuckled and stood beside the shorter one. "I think you mean 'we'." With a roll of his eyes, Zexion side stepped away from the red-head.

Xaldin cleared his throat. "Well, now time to cook the turkey and bake the doughnuts." He disappeared into the hallway and made his way to the kitchen.

That night, the Nobody's gathered around the Menorah and lit the middle candle while Xemnas thanked Kingdom Hearts. After they munched on the cinnamon powdered doughnuts that were homemade by Xaldin, they gathered around the Kinara and lit the center candle. Xemnas again, thanked Kingdom Hearts and everyone ate some of the fruit.

Xaldin had rushed through the Christmas dinner and instead of cooking a Turkey; he went out a bought a pre-made one that was already cooked. Afterwards, Organization XIII rested in the Gray Area; exhausted from the Turkey. Demyx, who had overstuffed himself, was already zonked out on the couch. Drool escaped his mouth and he lay on his back; his legs dangled over the arm of the couch.

"We haven't really celebrated Christmas yet." Roxas commented as a yawn escaped his mouth.

Xion nodded her head. "We haven't given each other gifts."

Xemnas stood by the window wall and stared at Kingdom Hearts. A faint smirk curled the ends of his lips. "I think celebrating the holidays together was enough of a gift, Fourteen."

"That's true." Marluxia agreed as he sniffed a pink rose in a vase on an end table beside the couch. "Who said gifts had to be physical objects?"

"But don't you want anything?" Roxas questioned the pink- haired man. He was confused. In Zexion's book it had said the act of giving gifts was the central idea of Christmas. How was celebrating together a gift?

Suddenly a dark corridor appeared and everyone turned to face whoever was entering the room. A figure with a hood on stepped through. Roxas looked around the room and counted everyone. Only 13 Nobody's were there; they had fourteen. He narrowed his eyes, wondering who it was. When he finally figured it out he felt dumb.

"Oh, I know who it is." The blonde stated.

The figure removed the hood and blonde platinum hair with familiar electric blue eyes was visible. A smirk played on his pale lips.

"So, I heard that Christmas was about giving." Luxord began as the portal dissipated behind him. "I couldn't help but notice that the space under the tree was empty." He gestured towards the fully decorated pine tree. With a snap of his fingers, little wrapped boxes with different colored bows appeared under the tree. Xion gasped with excitement. "Whatever you do, do not ask how I accomplished that." And with that, Luxord summoned a dark corridor and stepped backwards into it with a long smirk.

Larxene and Marluxia glanced at each other with confused expressions, wondering what they had just seen. Roxas, Xion and Demyx (who had suddenly awoken) rushed to the tree and looked for gifts with tags labeled with their names.

Xemnas smiled. Today was bringing back so many memories for him. Seeing the younger ones excited and happy made him remember the feelings of happiness he use to have.

"Xemnas!" Demyx shouted as he picked up a blue rectangular gift. "This one's yours!" Tossing the gift, Xemnas examined the blue wrapped box and gently shook it. It was a little heavy.

"I don't need anything." The Superior stated but still curious at the same time.

"Open it!" Xion exclaimed. Everyone turned to face the Superior; all eyes on him. He felt pressured to do so, so when he lifted a piece of wrapping paper and tore it, it seemed like they had leaned in like he was trying to stop a bomb from exploding. Swallowing, he tore off all the wrapping and lifted the box lid. What he saw made him gasp and shut it quickly. It couldn't be.

"What is it?" Xigbar questioned with crossed arms. A candy cane hung out of his mouth. Saix stood by Xemnas' side and took the box from his grasp. Lifting it up the lid, he face stayed expressionless.

"It's a train set."

Xigbar had gotten a Nerf gun complete with foam bullets. Zexion threatened that if he had been used as a target, Xigbar would be terminated.

Xaldin got five packages of matchbox cars, he seemed in shock.

Vexen opened his large box to find a globe of the world. He doubted that he was even holding it in his hands.

Lexaeus had a small box, but inside was three boxes of puzzles. He couldn't take his eyes off the boxes.

When Zexion reluctantly untied the blue ribbon and slowly lifted the lid on his box, he quickly shut it in denial. Everyone was curious. Axel snatched his box and lifted the cover and laughed.

"What is it?" Xigbar was curios as well as everyone else.

Zexion protectively grabbed the box back and tightly clutched it to his chest. "How is this possible?" He stared out the window, too shocked to move.

"It seems," Vexen began and then biting his lip. "It seems we're receiving items we had as children."

The book worm opened his lid and gently scooped up a small teddy bear into his hands.

"You got a teddy bear?" Demyx questioned and then chuckled.

Numbers One through Six stayed silent and stared at their gifts as if they didn't take their eyes off, they'd disappear forever.

Saix opened his gift and a small chocolate dachshund leaped out and lapped its tongue over Saix's 'X' scar.

Axel tore off the wrapping and ended up ruining the box it came in. Inside he found a Frisbee with a large flame on the cover. It had an angry cartoon face on the flame and Axel gasped with a smile.

Demyx received drum sticks that were signed by his favorite band. He was so ecstatic that he played the air drums and felt like a rock star.

Marluxia swallowed and slowly unwrapped the paper like it would explode if he ripped it any faster. Inside he found a plastic sword.

Larxene rudely grabbed her gift from Demyx's hands with an "Hmph!" When she opened the lid, she found Ninja Stars.

There were no more gifts left under the tree and Roxas and Xion were both had pouty faces.

"Why don't we get any?" Roxas questioned.

Vexen slowly looked up from his globe in his lap. "Perhaps it's because you have no memory of your Somebody's?" He guessed. "Or perhaps it's because you're still children..." He cupped his chin in thought. "I do wonder what magic Number Ten used."

"Do I have a Somebody?" Xion questioned.

Everyone stayed silent and Vexen swallowed. "Well, all Nobody's come from something- uhm." He cleared his throat. "You both have gifts!" Vexen exclaimed, suddenly changing the subject.

The two were excited and big-eyed. Sweat dripped of the Chilly Academic's brow and he stuttered. "Y-you get ice cream! Yes, that's what you get! Go look in the freezer, there should be tons of Sea Salt in there."

The two quickly got up and booked it to the kitchen where they enjoyed bars and bars of the treat.

"This," Xemnas began. "Is the most excellent time I've had as a Nobody." Lexaeus nodded in agreement.

"I almost feel like I have a heart." Xigbar commented. "Can we celebrate this every year, Superior?"

With a nod, Xemnas replied with, "Absolutely."


End file.
